The Final Jaya Komodo Trip of 2013!!!

We left on Saturday the 28 of September. A little bit of a special trip because it’s the last one of this Komodo season. After this trip our lovely Jaya goes to Raja Ampat to do some exploration over there. On board we welcomed Frederik from Finland, Mizio from Italy, Spanish Tomas and Dutch Linsey, James from Australia, Barry from Ireland and Sarah from Singapore, Jayney from Ireland, Dutchies Floris and Lucy, Christine and Patrick from Germany, Abudallah from Bahrein. Jesse from the USA rejoined us after having some good fun on the previous 3 days. Dive crew were Steve, Marsel, Jo and Pit. Nass our captain, Ahmed and Dede the chefs, Rambo and Heri our dinghy drivers and Suliman and Herman took care of tanks and maintenance.

The first dive we went to Kanawa. It’s an easy dive to start the trip, get sorted with weights and equipment and enjoy the Komodo waters. Some groups saw some massive bumphead parrotfish others had turtles and our more common reef species were present as well; lionfish, scorpionfish, blue spotted stingrays, yellow back fusiliers and beside that beautiful sea fans. In the evening everybody happily chatted away and we had a little surprise for all as well. The last trip of the season was planned as a 9 dive trip, but we decided to not only do 9 dives but also visit the dragons on the last day, whoop whoop!

We parked the boat on the mooring line at Sabayor and did the first dive the next morning at the stunningly beautiful Tatawa Besar. We had a slight current which makes it even better to enjoy all the orange soft coral, massive barrel sponges, hydroids, whip corals, table corals and staghorn coral. On top of that one group saw a manta passing by. Two other groups had a beautiful eagle ray hanging out for a long time. Beside that massive pufferfishes, ribbon eels and turtles were found.

What a start of the day! The next dive was Batu Bolong. One of the big four dive sites in the Komodo National Park. And rightfully so! The fish soup of anthias, sergeant majors and damselfish is amazing and gives the reef so much colour. Beside that there is not a single spot on there that is not covered in corals. A truly massive giant trevally came in to get a clean, a white tip reef shark passed by, rave nudi’s (nembrotha purpureolineata) were found and hawksbill turtles came to say hello too. Blue fin trevally’s together with a longnose emperor were hunting the reef for a snack. It’s so pretty you don’t know where to look.

For the third dive of the day it was time to head up North and have a look at the Golden Passage. A relatively fast drift presented us with white tip reef sharks, black tip reef sharks, giant sweetlips, batfish, barracuda, turtles and puffer fish. What an awesome days diving today!

Jo and Marsel went to the beach with everybody. The teams for our extreme beach clean- up were as follow: Marsel and the girls against the boys. The boys team was bigger but the girls did have the fastest beach cleaner of Flores in their team;-). Despite this fact, the men won! But far more importantly a great effort was put in by everybody and the beach looks a lot better now! A well deserved drink and a beautiful sunset was the reward! Time for dinner, chatting and a good night sleep to be ready for a 4 dive day!

We started the early morning of the 30thof September at the famous Castle Rock. Castle is another one of the top 4 dive sites in the park. A relatively strong rising current made us work hard on the dives (and burn a bit of air;-)) but with an awesome result. Three possibly 4 grey reefs kept on coming into the reef whilst in the meantime we were surrounded by white tip reef sharks all the time. Little brave white tip reef sharks, some of them smaller than the giant trevallys, showing off with the bigger sharks. But also bigger white tip males and females with mating scars on their backs. Now beside the shark parade going on in front of us there was a big school sailfin snapper, schooling banner fish everywhere, lots of red tooth triggerfish and surgeonfish. At one point you could hear all the fish move bat once, one of those amazing sounds that makes you aware that something big is trying to catch some food.

This day was never going to be dull, if at all this is possible in Komodo. Next dive the Cauldron. Not as speedy as it can be, but beautiful as always. Big pufferfish on the sandy floor, white tip reef shark in the cauldron and lots of snappers, giant trevallys and a school of bumphead parrotfish. We gently drifted through the shotgun and enjoyed the reef on the other side. Beautiful green and hawksbill turtles were met. Beside all the fish, the reef changes from a sandy slope full of garden eels and covered in coral bommies, to a hard coral and rubble area, followed by one of the most stunning soft coral gardens Komodo has to offer.

It was time to move South again and challenge our luck on Karang Makassar. Some sharks were seen, lots of rubble, nudibranchs and plenty of fish but no mantas unfortunately. We did the night dive at Wainilu. Always a pleasure, since there’s so many weird stuff that can be found there. Frogfish, Spanish dancers, flatwurms, moray eels, cuttlefish, octopus, scorpionfish, decorated crabs, shrimps and so much more. A wonderful night dive indeed!

The last dive of the Komodo season we went to Tengah. With a mild current we saw lots of turtles, baby sharks, nudibranchs, juvenile batfish but also a big school of long nose emperors, batfish and rainbow runners. A worthy Komodo National Park last dive of the trip, with the beautiful colours of the hard and soft corals and lots of fish combined.

Jo and the guests went to the dragons after that. I think she got a bit carried away when she pinned Jesse to the floor with the rangers stick;-). Time to sail off home. Not only has it been a truly fantastic season here, thanks to all the Wicked guests that came to visit us. It also was a super fun and fantastic last trip. We hope to see you all back either here next season or in Raja Ampat in the mean time!

 A BIG Thank you to all of you who joined this trip!

An a very big thank you to all the guests who joined the Jaya in 2013 making this a great year indeed! So much fun, so many amazing experiences and so much gained! You have helped us teach several Interns from Komodo Village who are now employed, you have helped us collect data on Manta Rays and our efforts helped create a 7000sq KM Manta Ray, Shark and Turtle sanctuary around Flores and Komodo and much more!!! Thank you for choosing Wicked Diving and we hope to see you again real soon!!!

-Wicked Diving Komodo

Komodo Liveaboard September 24th, 2013 - trip report

As we near the end of September, the Jaya’s season in Komodo is coming to a close. After September she heads to Raja Ampat, and makes a few long range expeditions along the way.  However, that’s not to say it’s over by any means. The next Jaya trip set sail to the National Park on 21st September with a boatful of guests and high expectations. We were leaving around the full moon, which means a beautiful night time sky and strong currents. Strong currents mean awesome marine life and that’s what we were searching for.

Joining us were Hugh, Richard, Ross, Jas, Ian, Courtnay, Anastasia, Rob, Sophie, Toby, Louis, Rosa and Tim. The dive crew consisted of Steve, Pit, Carl and Jo and the Jaya super crew Achmad, Suleman, Heri, Marwan, Dullah, Ahmed and Dede made up the final integral piece of the puzzle.

The trip began with a check dive at Sabayor. This was a sunset dive, which meant fish super highway as all the fish made their way to bed...this showed itself in the form of a huge school of bumphead parrotfish which cruised past all the groups on the reef. Also on the site we spotted eagle rays, flounders in the sand, leaf fish and teeny weeny boxfish. It was then time for dinner and a chance for everyone to get to know one another better. We chatted and exchanged a few stories and when Steve informed everyone that wakeup call was at 7am, most people then headed to bed to catch some important zzzzzs before the busy day that was planned.

We started the next day in style, hitting up Batu Bolong for our first dive. Beforehand, our guests learnt a little bit about the currents in Komodo, and also how to dive in them. Very important at all times, especially around a full moon. The conditions were perfect; a great lee area for all divers to cruise around in and very fishy. We saw allsorts here; napoleon wrasse, sleeping whitetips, hunting trevally, huge dog tooth tuna and some smaller things too such as the famous Batu Bolong ‘rave’ nudi , morays and scorpion fish. This dive site was a great taste of what was to come and everyone was pretty taken aback by the beauty and variety of species. Why stop there we thought, so we headed to Karang Makassar and kept our fingers crossed and said our prayers. The conditions were just right, so with careful planning and a little bit of luck, all groups were lucky enough to see multiple mantas, some seeing 11 or 12. One group even got very lucky when they witnessed mating behaviour towards the end of the dive. All of the information was logged and some divers managed to get ID shots too, all of which will be sent to our conservation partner, The Manta Trust. After this we headed up to the north of the park to dive The Cauldron. The briefing was give, current checked and people were ready to rock and roll, and rock and roll they did. The Cauldron lulled us into a false sense of security as we started on the easy sheltered reef and then the current started to pick up, pushing us into the cauldron itself and then spitting us all out of The Shotgun at great speed! What a crazy ride, like a rollercoaster. This is one site where the experience of the dive, and the dramatic scenery is really what sticks in divers minds. However, the marine life is pretty awesome too which white tips sharks gliding, giant trevallys sheltering with schools of surgeon fish in the fishbowl, turtles in the soft coral gardens at the end, and even a manta for some lucky groups, playing around in the back currents!

The diving day was over, then it was time to head to the beach and everyone joined us for our super quick and super effective 10 minute Extreme Beach Clean. We filled the bags and then enjoyed the sunset knowing that we’d all done our good deed for the day! On return to the boat, it was time to chill out a little bit before dinner and most people opted to get an early night to prepare them for the following day!

The second morning was an early start as 4 dives were planned. The first location was the beautiful reef around Lighthouse. It was a nice pleasant start, as currents were mild, however the temperature was cold, with some people reading 24 on their computers. The dive started with lots of lovely stingrays in the sand and small creatures like nudibranchs, moray eels and cuttlefish, some lucky divers saw sleeping white tips and everyone enjoyed the beautiful corals. Next up, we stepped up the pace a bit with Castle Rock on a strong rising tide. The divers split into teams, some hitting the currents at their strongest point, in the split, with others opting for the easier lee side. However, both groups had a great time. Sharks were out in force, with 3 grey reefs circling in the current and plenty of white tips to be seen by all. Turtles ambled around the reefs and giant sweetlips, barracuda and giant trevally were sighted all over the site, not to mention the odd friendly batfish. After that it was time for lunch, relaxing, and then on to China Shop for a 3rd dive. This was a really pleasant dive – relaxing for all with a chance to take in more of the macro delights of the National Park; nudibranchs, morays, scorpion fish, many turtles were also seen again, always a crowd pleaser. Then after some snacks, sun bathing and napping, we headed out for the final dive of the day, which was a night dive at Gili Lawa Darat reef. The full moon meant we had plenty of light down there to find all the cool critters such as Spanish Dancers, lobsters, flatworms, spider crabs, eels and cuttlefish. Not only that, but the reef was electrified with the phosphorescent plankton that reacted to our flashlights.

The next morning, was also the last dive for 6 of our guests, who were leaving the trip. We planned an awesome site  for them to remember Komodo with – Steve’s favourite – Tatawa Besar. The vis was incredible, temperature warm and the fish were active. Not only that, but the current was really pushing. We hurtled along the reef at full throttle, with flashes of colour and fish out of sight almost as soon as we got a look at them. It was a great dive and everyone definitely earned their breakfast afterwards!

After eating, it was time to drop some of our guests, who were staying for the second portion of the trip, at tropical paradise, Kanawa. They would spend the afternoon there sunbathing, snorkelling and generally relaxing. We all said our goodbyes and got a nice photo of the group before we left. Then it was back to Labuan Bajo for everyone else. It was a fantastic trip with a fun loving group of people and awesome diving – what more could you want! Thanks so much for joining us on board the Jaya and we hope to see you again soon.


 -Wicked Diving Komodo

Manta Ray Education Trip: Komodo National Park September 2013

We left Labuan Bajo on the 7th of September. On board we had the pleasant company of Jim, Matt and Karen from the UK, Steve from New Zealand, Nathalie, Ellen and Torben from Switzerland and (homeless;-)) Jeff, from the USA. Boat crew consisted of Ahmad, Ahmed, Mama Angel, Marwan, Heri, Suliman and Herman. From the Tourism School of Komodo we had intern Suryadi joining us. Dive staff were Steve, Marsel and Pit.

A 5 day manta education trip was planned for this trip. The check dive was done at Sabolan Kecil. A school of about 60 batfish were found on the outer reef, nudibranchs, lionfish, a yellow edged moray eel, big pufferfishes, an eagle ray and the ever amazing big and beautiful sea fans. Slightly rocking we headed up North after the dive. The first manta presentation that evening was about manta biology and ecology. The fact that our lovely guests came to a manta education trip is already a success. It gives us data to show that mantas alive are a lot more valuable then when they are being fished out. Which is very important data considering the threats they are facing. Beside that everybody was enthusiastic about becoming a SSI Manta Diver.

The next day we started with a possible manta dive. No mantas were seen, but Lighthouse is a stunning reef nonetheless. Turtles, white tip reef sharks, nudibranchs, giant trevallys, moray eels, four eagle rays and lots of batfish were seen. The current dropped so the dive was finished on the pinnacles on the corner. They are just stunning; the variety of the  colours of the corals, the light and the bright blue visibility were amazing. The second dive at Castle Rock had a little surprise for us. Now, before you get excited it wasn’t a manta;-). The current was fairly strong and all groups therefore jumped in the split on the current side. We hit the reef and parked ourselves in the split. There were white tip reef sharks everywhere, a possible 9 different sharks were seen. But beside that after about 5 minutes 2 grey reef sharks appeared! One was a nice big stocky female, the other one a smaller female. They kept on returning to the reef and basically together with the white tip reef sharks stayed with us for about 25 minutes when it was time to get to the lee side. Giant trevallys passed and a Napoleon came to visit as well. There was just action everywhere!

We finished the day with the Cauldron. As almost always, people are not only having lots of fun going through the cauldron via the shot gun, they also are stunned by the wonderful and stunning topography. The wall at the start of the dive, the sand with the garden eels and white tips cruising and resting, the cauldron with the fishbowl, the shotgun to get out and then the beautiful soft coral garden at the end. Some groups saw turtles already before the cauldron, others on the coral reef afterwards. And beside that the last group actually saw a little manta just after the shotgun. Estimation so far is that he or she was not much bigger than 1,50m (mantas when they are born are about 1,10m-1,30m). It was playing in the current and by the looks of it with a cheeky smile on its face!

So an awesome first day of diving! The extreme beach clean up was between singles versus couples and was won by a highly motivated couples team, although the singles did find a rare transformer toy as part of their garbage! Then we all went up the hill to enjoy a beautiful sunset with a beer (bringing the empty cans back as part of the rubbish of course!!)

After dinner it was time to learn more about Manta identification. What is important data, how do you identify males and females, different species (manta birostris and manta alfredi), how to dive with mantas and how do you take an ID shot for the Komodo Manta Database were the subjects covered. Over the past year Wicked Diving has collected data on dozens of different Manta Rays and certified more than 150 of our guests as Manta Ray specialists. This data and the popularity of our trips has helped make Komodo the newest Manta Ray sanctuary in the world! More then 7000 square Km is set aside as protected  (also for sharks and several reef species as well!!!)

Day two started with a dive on Crystal Rock. At least 6 white tip reef sharks were seen resting and swimming and a small baby one resting under one of the table corals, a big school of surgeonfish, several types of trevallys (big eye, blue fin and giant trevallys), whip coral shrimp and a leaf scorpion fish. There were also lots of moray eels poking their heads out, lionfish and scorpionfish.

In the Golden Passage several white tip reef sharks were seen, bumphead parrotfish and 3 devil rays! Turtles everywhere and for some of the groups a strong down current in the end ;-). Karang Makassar had all kinds of surprises for us. Black tip reef sharks and white tip reef sharks were seen. A massive sting ray, a ‘hobbing’ scorpionfish (I mean you can’t tell me that was swimming really;-)) and an amazing Spanish Dancer for one of the groups. Dancing in the blue as if it was night time! From the surface before the dive we had already spotted a rather huge turtle head coming up to breath and one of the groups actually ran in to her on the dive…..our new friend the loggerhead turtle. Her head is enormous! And it must be more than 150 years old…..well we don’t know that really but it looks old and wise;-)!

We moored up at Siaba Besar for the night dive. A big sandy slope, with lots of pulsing polyp coral that hides all kinds of creatures; flatworms, nudibranchs, crabs, blue spotted sting rays, lionfish and beautiful soft corals. No more manta talking for that night, it was time to warm up, enjoy the yummy dinner and go to bed. Of course only after watching all the great video and photo footage of the day!

Day three arise, with Tatawa Besar as our first dive. We hang out in the split with the twin spot snappers, red tooth triggerfish and damsel fish. We found a beautiful blue ribbon eel, and beautiful sea fans. Lots of orange and green hydroids colour the reef beautifully and that together with the thousands of fish everywhere makes it one of the most beautiful coral slopes that Komodo has to offer. It was a fast drift, that has to be said, so turtles were flying by, together with big pufferfishes, and batfishes. At the end towards the safety stop, a black tip reef shark passed by at the edge of the reef and more turtles came to play.

Mauan is one of the Manta hot spots we visited after that. We dropped on the sandy slope, where we know are several cleaning stations. We did see a cuttlefish, a snowflake moray eel, white tip reef shark, flatworm and a black leafy scorpionfish in the end. Everything agreed the reef was in fantastic condition, but unfortunately the mantas didn’t come to play. The last dive of the day was at Batu Bolong. A strong rising tide brought us lots of action even on the lee side. Trevally’s hunting, Napoleons feeding,  white tip reef  sharks resting and cruising, and several very big hawksbill turtles. The map puffer fishes are probably the fattest ones we have in the park! Lots of scorpionfish were found as well and a dramatic wall side going down deep. It is one of the top 4 most famous dives in the park and it rightfully deserves it’s fame.

A few stayed relaxing on the boat afterwards whilst others went to the beach at Siaba Kecil. Another successful clean up and lots of chatting, photographing and enjoying the sunset from the stunning beach of Siaba Kecil.

In the evening it was time for the last manta presentation about threats and conservation. Why mantas are so vulnerable and need our help and how we can do so were some of the topics covered. Afterwards we watched Andrea Marshalls “Queen of mantas”, the BBC documentary from 2009.

The next morning we flew on the first 10 minutes of Siaba Kecil. Enjoy the ride and the turtles flying by. But after 10 minutes of craziness, we got to the easy coral slope to enjoy the rest of the dive just swimming slowly. We saw scorpionfish, lionfish and a brown banded bamboo shark that was resting on the coral slope. It let us get very close! But the big relief and happiness came after breakfast. We had an awesome plan, we would dive Karang Makassar, if we wouldn’t find mantas we would go and snorkel the back and the front until we did and then dive again. But from the surface the boat crew spotted mantas just before Steve was about to go and check the current. So everybody jumped in with him to do the current check……well not really, everybody jumped to see the mantas! Five mantas were seen including one black morph. The dive briefing was done on the dive deck and we all jumped in afterwards to see if we could find them diving as well. And we did!!! Most of them were cleaning on the cleaning stations. Females, males, big and small gave us quality time with them. It was awesome! One big female had at least 25 butterfly fish on her. But also a big free swimming moray eel, a baby moray eel, turtle and a peacock mantis shrimp were spotted.

So we asked everybody what to do next, do another dive here, or leave one for the last day. All agreed that we wanted to take another chance, do another dive at Makassar and see what it would bring us. Would they still be around? They were!!!The tide was rising. And mantas were having a good clean both on the deeper and shallower cleaning stations. A brown banded bamboo shark passed by Steve’s head and a black tip reef shark later came to say hello as well. In the rubble a peacock mantis shrimp was trying to hide. Both mantas seen were male and both stayed for at least 25 minutes on the station getting a good clean. What a happy flappy day! And thanks a lot for the ID footage! Incredibly helpful and important for the Komodo National Park and mantas in general!

It was time to go to Wainilu, an absolute awesome muck dive during the day and a fantastic night dive. Spanish Dancers, decorated crabs, ornate ghost pipefish, several types of moray eels, nudibranchs, cuttlefish, squid, mandarin fish and all kinds of other creatures that were amazingly weird! Afterwards there was lots of talking about what we had seen, and the general consensus was that it had be an awesome diving day! Mantas, critters and lots of fun!

That was our diving done but not yet the end of the trip. We went dragon trekking in the morning. A medium length trek, with lots of big and baby dragons. A beautiful view from the top of the hill, bush turkeys, monkeys and even from the Scotchy we were pretty sure we saw the crocodile! Off for a last bit of snorkeling and then it was time to put up the sails and sail into the harbor of Labuan Bajo. At five we met again in the shop to see some traditional dancing and have a drink together. Thanks to all of you for an amazing trip!

-Wicked Diving Komodo

Shark Education in Komodo National Park

Shark education in Komodo is something that Wicked Diving is taking very seriously. Throughout August, on board our liveaboard boat, SY Jaya, we have been transforming our guests in SSI Shark Divers.

Through a selection of informative briefings, and the chance to dive with these creatures, guests are able to get a little closer to this fascinating species. As with our Special Manta Ray education trips and campaigning in the town, sharing our knowledge and passion for the underwater world is at the core of what we do.

In addition, we have been collecting important sightings data to contribute to Shark Savers’ Shark Count programme. Together with our guests, we have been able to contribute sightings from 60 separate dives in August. This is Citizen Science at its best!

While most avid divers, snorkelers and water babies know the threats that sharks are facing, it doesn’t harm to have a reminder and that’s certainly the feedback we get from many of our guests. We are proud to hear that the message is then spread further by guest blogs and storytelling. Especially by our guests who reside in countries where shark fishing or the consumption of shark products is rife. As with any of the major issues that this modern world faces, people power can help to make change.

-Wicked Diving Komodo

Komodo Liveaboard - trip report August 30, 2013

After the first three days we came back in on Tuesday morning and left Labuan Bajo around 15.30. Catherine and Fran from the UK, Zara from Australia and Karine from France stayed for the second part of the trip. We welcomed Isabella and Alberto from Italy, Adil and Sacha from Dubai, Cliff, Andrew and Jessica from the US, Victoria from Austria and Marija from Serbia. The dive crew consisted of Martyn and Steve who, by the way, are both from the UK, Marsel who is from Flores and Pit who is from The Netherlands. Herman who is doing his internship with us from the tourism school on Flores joined us as well and is by the way originally from the land of the Dragons, Komodo! Ahmed, Ahmad, Nass, Marwan, Heri, Mala and Suliman are our steady and sturdy crew.  So a good part of the world was represented on board our lovely pirate ship Jaya.

The first day we kept it nice and easy. A cheeky snorkel at Sabolan for the certified divers, some relaxing time on the beach and a chance for Marija to finish her open water course,  that due to circumstances was not completely finished just yet. Some dolphins greeted us, although the snorkelers didn’t see them in the water. After that we cruised all the way to the North, meanwhile chatting away and enjoying a very tasty dinner. It was a beautiful night with tons of stars in the sky.

The next morning we started with our first dive site at China Shop. This dive site is located just outside the famous Cauldron. A nice and easy dive site for our check dive, this is a gently sloping reef, covered in soft corals where we saw both hawksbill and green turtles. And closer to the Cauldron brings a sandy bottom with beautiful hard coral bommies covered in glass fish. On the bommies we found nudibranchs, lionfish, a leafy scorpion fish and a baby batfish. What a great way to start our trip.

After a yummy breakfast it was time to go to the famous Castle Rock. The current was almost non- existent, which meant there were lots of schools of fish close to the reef. Fusiliers, schooling banner fish, redttooth triggerfish and surgeonfish were all present in big schools. In between them there were massive giant trevallys looking out for a snack or two. A few white tip reef sharks were spotted cruising around and some baby white tip reef sharks were found under big table corals. Map puffer fish, black spotted puffer fish, giant puffer fish, boxfish, lionfish and big Napoleon wrasses were joining our little get together as well. In short: fish heaven.

The third dive after a well deserved lunch was planned for the Golden Passage. Most of the times a pretty fast drift, but this time it was almost slack tide. Visibility dropped to about 15m, but that couldn’t spoil the dive. Bumphead parrotfish, white tip reef sharks, black tip reef shark, moray eels and one group even saw a pygmy sea horse. Small creatures, big creatures, all can be found in Komodo National Park.

Next was time for another of of Wicked Diving's unique extreme beach clean- up. Ten minutes of filling up two garbage bags with rubbish was all that entails. To make it a bit more exciting we divided ourselves into two teams. About 10 minutes later the bags were fully filled and the team consisting of Catherine, Fran, Karine, Zara. Marija and Victoria were the winners! More importantly, the beach looked a lot better afterwards! Some went back to the boat after that (and spectacularly saved a football from the water), the others enjoyed the sunset on the hill of Gili Lawa Darat.  In the evening the guitar came out and singing and music filled the evening with lots of fun. Even the coco-


pops came out to keep the rhythm going

Morning had broken with a beautiful sun rise. With a four dive day ahead of us, we travelled in the early morning to Mauan. A strong current made the dive quite an adventure. We were hoping for some mantas at the end on the sandy slope….but we guess they were busy elsewhere. As the biggest drift of the trip though it was a real “Welcome to Komodo” dive  Next came Batu Balong, one of the top 4 dive sites in the park. We dived the South side of the reef, which is quite a steep coral slope. Another dive completely covered in fish and lots of hawksbill turtles this time. The ‘rave nudibranch’  (nembrotha purpureolineata) was found again as well. Sergeant majors, fusiliers, anthias, damsel fish, big Napoleon wrasse and all that together with a stunning visibility. Beside that the reef was ours, lucky us!

The luck was on our side again afterwards as we had a stunning dive on Tatawa Kecil, perfectly timed for the start of the rising tide. The North plateau is a beautiful reef. Beside a white tip reef shark we also saw a brown banded bamboo shark. A school of batfish and a big school of juvenile humpback snappers coloured the reef. A little turtle was hiding under one of the outcroppings, a scorpion fish was well camouflaged on the rock and moray eels were poking their head outs of everywhere.

Whilst  the sun settled slowly, some brave people climbed the mast of the Jaya. The view is amazing from there! The day ended with the famous Wainilu dive site. During the day it’s a fantastic ‘muck’ dive, during the night even more crazy critters come out. Decorated crabs, frogfish, mandarin fish, nudibranchs, pleurobranchs, spearing  mantis shrimp and feather stars were seen. Beside that, tons of other creatures that were happily identified and discussed afterwards.

Pulau Tengah brought  this diving trip to an end. The visibility was about 12m, but there were fish everywhere. A worthy last dive of the trip.  Under one of the table corals in the plateau at least 6 baby white tips were resting. One brave little sharky came out, swam around and went back in again. Once we reached the wall side it was time to look for small creatures hiding in the crevices. A leafy scorpion fish, some very well camouflaged bearded scorpion fish and nudibranchs were found. The batfish came in to play, barramundi were hiding under rocks and turtles came to say hello.

The first part of this trip was a shark education trip, but also on this trip people were still enthusiastic to keep on collecting data for the Shark Savers Counting Data sheet. It’s very important to get a good idea of the amount of sharks that we see in the National Park, so well done and a big thank you on behalf of the sharks!


Even though the diving was finished, the trip was not yet. After breakfast it was time to run away….,uhum, excuse me, visit the famous Komodo dragons. After meeting the dragons and a short trek with a stunning view from the view point on Komodo Island, it was time to put the sails up and sail to Labuan Bajo. Time as well to say; hope to see you again and lets have some dinner and a beer tonight on land! Thank you to everyone on the boat for an awesome trip.


-Wicked Diving Komodo

Komodo Liveaboard Trip Report - August 23rd, 2013

Here we are in the middle of August and guess what? We’ve got another Komodo Liveaboard trip lined up for an exciting six days worth of diving in paradise!! Joining us for this adventure were Gabby from Spain, Eric from the USA, Pariya, Paymon, Stelios, Alex, Chris and Louis from Cyprus, Sandra and Thomas from Germany, Sabine from France, Marco from Italy and Ravi from India. Joining the guests were dive guides Carl, Martyn, Pit and Marsel as well as our super friendly and helpful Jaya crew.
After a boat briefing, safety briefing and a dive briefing (so many briefings!), everybody was extra keen to jump in the water and see what the diving in Komodo had to offer. We carried out our check dive at Sebayor Kecil, a perfect spot for everyone to get comfortable in the water, try out the dive equipment and get snapping with the cameras before we headed out into more challenging conditions. Even on our check dive we were amazed at what we spotted underwater – an eagle ray, cuttlefish, leaf scorpionfish, the shy twinspot lionfish and a rare octopus as found by Marsel. Not a bad start to the trip!

We then journeyed to the north of the Park whilst the sun set, guests got to know each other and we all enjoyed our first of many tasty meals onboard the boat. After a good nights sleep we were ready to dive Castle Rock, perhaps the most famous dive site in the Park and one which is never forgotten. Castle Rock gives divers the best opportunity to see sharks in Komodo and it certainly lived up to its reputation this time. White tipped reef sharks circled the divers as we hovered above the drop off whilst neon fusiliers, surgeonfish and long fin bannerfish schooled in huge numbers out in the blue.

Up next was The Lighthouse, a beautiful sloping coral reef where it is possible to see creatures both great and small. White tips could be seen resting on the sandy bottom and the reef itself was combed for some special critters. Groups were lucky enough to see the tiny and elusive pygmy seahorse which nestled itself amongst the leaves of a sea fan. It also started to hop around from branch to branch giving the guides a hard time pointing it out to each diver in turn! But this wasn’t all. Marsel and his group saw a brief glimpse of a manta ray on their safety stop. Maybe this was a sign of things to come…

The final dive of the day was scheduled for The Cauldron, normally a fast drift as the tides force the water through a narrow passage between two islands causing a strong current towards the end of the dive. Today was not that day however. A complete lack of current meant that we could explore the areas of the dive site which normally pass by in a blur. The soft coral covered wall was examined inch by inch whilst the cut-out we refer to as the ‘Fishbowl’ was scanned for macro life including moray eels and different species of shrimp. A further swim around the Cauldron also revealed huge schools of midnight snapper and giant trevally and the stunning coral garden at the end of the dive was host to a number of turtles resting their weary shells. The day was rounded off with another of our special Wicked Diving beach cleans and an incredible sunset over the volcanic peaks of Sangeang.

Day three started off with a great drift dive at the Golden Passage where each group encountered sharks and turtles as well as a school of chevron barracuda who gracefully swam in the current. Unlike our divers who were holding onto rocks as if their lives depended on it! A swim across the current led us to a protected reef where we had the chance to check the rocks for smaller animals such as flatworms, nudis, scorpionfish and painted spiny lobsters.

Temporarily leaving the north of the Park for some diving in the centre, we decided that it was time to introduce our guests to a real staff favourite…Batu Bolong. Batu Bolong is a rocky pinnacle directly situated in the middle of the Park and is commonly referred to as ‘diving in fish soup’ due to its sheer concentration of our fishy friends at the site! Not only is the reef surrounded by small anthias, rainbow wrasse and scissortail damselfish, a quick glance out into the deeper waters rewarded divers with napoleon wrasse, giant trevally, bluefin trevally plus a couple of hawksbill turtles surfing the currents. Batu Bolong is also a great site for seeing some cool nudibranchs and amongst us we managed to see both the colourful ‘raver nudi’ as well as the beautiful ‘dragon nudi’.

Another dive…another staff favourite. This time we took the guests to Tatawa Besar, a stunning reef which astounds divers with its variety, quantity and condition of the corals. The start of the dive was a relaxed affair which allowed us to use our ‘macro eyes’ and find critters such as the minute hairy squat lobster which hides within the folds of a barrel sponge. See if you can find one next time you go diving! The current picked up and we drifted along the length of the reef occasionally spotting hawksbill turtles and napoleon wrasse whilst being constantly surrounded by red tooth triggerfish and neon fusiliers out in the blue. Eventually ending up on the protected side of the reef, eagle eyed guides managed to find a colony of mandarin fish who are only usually seen at sunset when they perform a flamboyant mating ritual. Fantastic!

The final dive of the day took place at Siaba Besar where we were hoping to see some of the unusual creatures that can only be seen on a night dive. For a change we decided to spend most of the dive on the sand which can play host to a surprising amount of life. One group was lucky enough to see a huge porcupine ray which was over one metre across with spines covering its entire dorsal surface. Wow! Quite often we also get fish hunting in the beams of our torches and tonight was no exception with both hungry cornetfish and lionfish grabbing an illuminated meal. Plenty of blue spotted stingrays were also seen feeding in the sand and a sleeping turtle rested on a coral bommie. Perhaps the most interesting spot of the night was a Sulu velvetfish, a 5 centimetre long bright orange fish related to the scorpionfish that was resting on the sandy bottom. What a find!

Coming to the halfway point of the trip we decided it was time to dive Karang Makassar, typically referred to as Manta Point and the best site in the Park to see these majestic creatures. We dropped in and immediately saw our first manta meaning that the signs were good for the rest of the dive. A few minutes later and then the second cruised by. We continued drifting and then we saw a third and final manta at a cleaning station where we were able to stop and witness this behaviour for a whole five minutes. We were even lucky enough for the ray to fly directly over our heads making for some amazing photos!

We bid goodbye to Gabby and Eric as the Jaya returned to Labuan Bajo to pick up new guests Ben and Mehul from England. After a tasty lunch, beach time and a quick snorkel on Kanawa island we were ready for our next dive of the trip at the northernmost tip of the island. Typically regarded as a macro site, we were able to find lionfish, sponge snails, nudis and everybody’s favourite cephalopod – the cuttlefish! But it wasn’t only macro that we saw with some groups seeing a flying eagle ray as well as a school of huge bumphead parrotfish cruising by. The sunset upon surfacing was incredible and we all got to know the new guests as we travelled to the north of the Park for some more amazing diving.

No trip to the north of the Park is complete without a visit to Crystal Rock so we decided an early morning dive was best to see the site at its finest. With the current being fairly mild we were able to explore much of the site including the stunning coral encrusted pinnacles. It was around these pinnacles that large schools of sweetlips and snapper were hanging out and and just beyond several white tipped reef sharks were seen cruising across the plateau. A final icing on the cake was a baby white tip shark taking refuge under a table coral towards the end of the dive, Awesome!

As we had new guests onboard we scheduled a second dive at Castle Rock. And who wouldn’t want to dive this site twice? We at Wicked Diving have been there many times and each time we can’t say enough good things about the dive! This time we had even more white tips, napoleon wrasse and baby sharks underneath table corals. We had to be especially careful on our safety stop as there were several scorpionfish lurking on top of the main rock. You don’t want to be touching one of those guys! Soon after we surfaced we had the amazing sight of dolphins playing on the surface. Could this day get any better?!
So for the next dive we were going to go flying. But flying underwater as we went to Siaba Kecil which has perhaps the fastest drift in the entire Park. We all zoomed along the dive site taking in the blur of coral and fish whilst taking care with our buoyancy in the strong currents. After a short time we kicked over to the protected side of the reef where we lazing spent the rest of the dive looking for turtles amongst the coral gardens. And guess what Steve’s fortunate group saw? A manta! Lucky lucky divers!

With the thought of manta rays foremost in everybody’s minds, we once again visited Karang Makassar with a hope to see some more of the big fellas. We had timed the dive so it was just after the full moon which historically has been the time when we have the most success with manta sightings. And to say the dive was a success is an understatement! In total we saw ten mantas including the scarce black manta, an unusual colour morph which we only see on rare occasions. Once back on the boat the guests excitedly chatted about one of the best dives they had ever done!

With everyone still on a manta high, we chose to dive Mauan our ‘secret’ manta spot and one where we could hopefully blow the divers minds even further! Dropping from the dinghy and looking down from the surface we could see another manta just below us! Choosing the right spot to descend away from the cleaning station we managed to find a perfect space on the sand where we could kneel and watch the ray in all its splendour whilst the photographers onboard could take all the photos they had dreamed of. The manta moved on and we explored the sandy slope a little further managing to find cuttlefish and a turtle before another manta cruised by. After spending some time with us it decided to move off and we could look for some macro life along the reef. We found some great stuff including a juvenile ribbon eel, whip coral shrimp, orang utan crab and small polka dotted cowrie. A quick look up and the mantas were back! They didn’t seem to want to leave us alone!

 With mantas now checked off the diver’s wishlists, we had our final day dive at Tatawa Kecil which is famous for its caves, overhangs and…unpredictable currents. There is a reason why this dive site is also known as ‘current city’! Descending down the reef we saw huge schools of humphead and midnight snapper and exploration of the caves and overhangs revealed batfish and sweetlips hiding from the currents. The current picked up and we drifted along the reef to the lee side of the island along the way spotting a banded sea snake amongst the coral. Marsel managed to spot a white tip shark on the coral plateau and we all took some time to watch the big eye trevally playing in the currents at the edge of the island before making our way to our safety stops in the shallower waters.

And so it came. The final dive of the trip. For those keen on macro and muck diving the night dive at Wainilu ranks high on the favourites list. The sheer number of unusual creatures that can be found here fills logbooks many pages over! Divers managed to see such species as frogfish, stumpy spine cuttlefish, barred moray eels, barchin scorpionfish, dwarf lionfish, bobtail squid, banded pipefish, starry night octopus, pleurobranchs and anemone crabs to name but a few! Everyone is always amazed at the small critters that can be found here especially after all the ‘big fish’ action we had experience on the trip so far.

No trip to Komodo is complete without a visit to see one of the Komodo dragons, an endemic and iconic image of Indonesia. Leaving early in the morning gives us the greatest opportunity to see the dragons in the wild before they seek shelter from the midday sun. Several of the larger dragons were seen as well as two younger ones walking out and about in the bush plus other local inhabitants including Timor deer, macaque monkeys and the megapode, a type of scrub fowl in whose nest the Komodo dragon lays her eggs.
And so the adventure was over. Everyone was happy that they had seen both mantas and dragons, the most famous residents of Komodo and excitedly swapped photos and contact details on the way back to the mainland. The sails were hoisted and the Jaya leisurely made her trip home, ready to pick up more intrepid explorers for the next part of their journeys…



 -Diving Komodo

Shark Education Liveaboard in Komodo!!!

Another week…another Jaya adventure! Joining us on this trip were Soeren and Kat from Germany, Simon, Mark, Aimee, Flick and Pete from Australia, Julio from Colombia, Sing Yi from Singapore, Altziber and Jose from Spain plus Kev and Ann from England. Instructors Martyn, Carl, Pit and Steve were all ready to show the guests the wonders of the Komodo National Park.

The first half of the venture was going to be a special one as it was Wicked Diving’s first ‘Shark Education’ trip of the season where Pit would give a couple of informal chats about all things shark related and we would plan the dive schedule to maximize our chances of seeing these amazing creatures. And not only that…each diver would receive an SSI Shark Specialty Diver certification to show that they care about sharks as much as we at Wicked Diving do.

Dive one of the trip took place at Bidadari, also known locally as ‘Angel Island’ and a great place to get everybody back in the water. Our guests were in heaven as we discovered cool nudis, sponge snails, flatworms, pipefish and a host of juvenile ribbon eels poking their heads out of holes in the sand. Did you know that all ribbon eels are born male and have the ability to change sex during their lifetime? Incredible! All groups surfaced to a magical sunset and we excitingly chatted about what was in store for the rest of the trip whilst we journeyed to the northern reaches of the Park. During the journey Pit gave us all an informative talk about shark biology and what species of sharks we could expect to find in the  Komodo National Park.

With a good first nights sleep for everybody, we were all eagerly awaiting our first dive of the day and our first opportunity to try and see some of the sharks that we all wanted to see. The Passage was lined up as the first dive and we all drifted along hoping for some sightings. Luck was on our side and we managed to see eight or nine white tipped reef sharks as well as a solitary black tip reef shark. Groups also saw eagle rays, hawksbill turtles, bumphead parrotfish, a school of chevron barracuda and even an octopus in the shallows at the end of the dive. What a way to start our special trip! We couldn’t have asked for more.

The second dive of the day was scheduled for Castle Rock, probably the most famous dive site in the Park and the one where there is the greatest opportunity to see sharks during the dive. The current was relatively mild so we could just hover over the drop off with a chance to see something special. Again the dive did not disappoint with plenty of reef sharks swimming in the blue and circling the groups of divers. We made our way to behind the main rock in readiness for our safety stop accompanied by a number of baby sharks having short swim away from the protection of their homes under the table corals.

The final dive of the day was at The Lighthouse, an ‘L’ shaped reef where we have the chance of seeing animals both small and large. With crystal clear visibility we managed to spy many white tipped reef sharks resting on the sand at the bottom of the reef and some groups were thrilled to see their first giant frogfish who we normally find nestled in the crevices of the beautiful coral-encrusted pinnacles at the tip of the site. Another interesting fish fact…the frogfish has the fastest movement of any creature in the animal kingdom with their attack being as quick as 1/6000 of a second! The shark count was exceptionally high on the first day with approximately thirty being seen over the course of three dives. What an amazing way to start our first ‘Shark Education’ trip! After dinner Pit gave us a thought-provoking talk about the threats surrounding the survival of sharks and also the conservation efforts that are currently in place to protect our favourite fish. We also logged the information about all the shark encounters throughout the day so that we could send it off to the Indonesian project of Shark Savers, an international organization whose mission is to save shark and ray species worldwide.

Not only were we hoping to see sharks on this trip we were hoping to see some nice clean beaches so it was time for another of our famous ‘Extreme Beach Cleans’. Split into two groups – Australia versus



the rest of the world, each team raced around the beach to try and fill two bin bags in the shortest time possible. The winners? Team Australia! (with a little help from Martyn). Thanks guys for helping us trying keep the Park as beautiful and unspoilt as possible.

For our final dive in the north of the Park before moving on, we dropped in at Crystal Rock for another chance to see some more sharks. With the current being fairly strong we managed to find some handholds on the rocks and witnessed the spectacle of sharks swimming in from every angle. More sharks! We also saw some other big fish on the dive including schools of giant trevally, big eye trevally and an inquisitive napoleon wrasse who seemed not to care about all the bubbles we were making.
With five dives completed already, it was time to cruise into the centre of the Park and explore a few more of the best sites that Komodo has to offer. Tatawa Kecil is a site that has lots to offer in terms of underwater topography with boulders, overhangs and caves to investigate. The first thing we found was a shark hidden in a little cave. Sweet!

Upon descending the reef we saw a school of midnight snapper playing in the currents as well as batfish hiding amongst the caves and overhangs. A further white tip swam by and we spent an incredible safety stop being surrounded by an enormous school of neon fusiliers who were being hunted by groups of hungry bluefin trevally. Thrilling stuff.

Makassar Reef, a two kilometer long plateau that runs alongside Komodo Island was the next destination for the divers. With a strong current and great visibility, we all enjoyed drifting along and having the sensation of flying underwater! Some groups saw eagle rays and we ticked off three species of shark – white tip, black tip and the brown banded bamboo shark. The soft coral garden at the end of the dive site is a haven for green turtles and all of us saw a handful whilst relaxing after our flying lesson.

The final dive of the day took place at Siaba Besar, a protected bay that is ideal for a spot of night diving. The dive site consists of sandy patches with coral bommies and patches of reef that contain the critters that only show their faces once the sun has gone down. Shrimps and crabs were plentiful and a few blue spotted stingrays were also seen gliding over the sand. Most surprising of all were two turtles that had decided to use a bommie as their bed for the night!

An early morning start meant that we had the Batu Bolong dive site all to ourselves. Referred to by the dive staff as diving in ‘fish soup’ this site never fails to impress. A couple more sharks were seen as well as huge hawksbill turtles, giant trevally and napoleon wrasse. And that’s just looking out into the blue! A closer inspection of the reef rewards divers with colourful nudis, flatworms, scorpionfish and moray eels lurking in the nooks and crannies.

Whilst we bid goodbye to a few of our guests, the remaining divers spent the afternoon on Kanawa island relaxing on the beach and indulging in some snorkelling. The snorkelling session even rewarded Simon with a black tip reef shark underneath the jetty. Lucky man!

The Jaya returned from Labuan Bajo with new guests Timo and Coco from China, Tanya from England and Geoff from the USA. With returning guests Pete and Flick, Jose and Altziber, Simon, Sing Yi , Soeren and Kat we all embarked on a dive at North Point, Kanawa before venturing back into the centre of the Park. As Kanawa is a real macro lovers paradise we were able to get close to the reef and find some nudis, sponge snails, flatworms, juvenile lionfish and even a tiny crinoid shrimp hiding in a feather star.

 The morning dive of the following day took us to Tatawa Besar, a staff favourite due to its colourful, pristine reef and the chance to see something special. The current was mild and so we could explore the site at a relaxed pace taking in all the schools of fish and small critters on the reef. And we saw more sharks! This time a white tip and a black tip. Awesome.

After moving back up to the northern tip of Komodo, we had a second dive at Castle Rock with a hope of seeing even more sharks. Yet again we were very lucky as more than ten circled all around us whilst we hung tightly onto the rocks. But it’s not only sharks that we can see at Castle Rock. The site is famous for witnessing hunting and feeding behaviour by schools of hungry fish. This time we saw the neon fusiliers being hunted by marauding giant trevallies with a couple of sharks thrown in for good measure!

The final dive of the day was at The Cauldron, typically known for its super fast drift and big fish action. Starting on the wall we were surprised by a loud ‘whooshing’ noise and a blur of fish darted by. We looked round and saw the chasing culprit…a hungry giant trevally! Drifting into the Cauldron itself we had time to check out both the ‘Fishbowl’ and the stunning soft coral covered wall before being shot out and kicking over to the stunning coral garden. Here we made our safety stop and got our breath back after the ride of our lives!

Heading back to the centre of the Park for the next full day of diving, we made our first dive at Mauan a beautiful sloping coral reef which has the potential for seeing some special creatures. And Steve’s group were lucky with a manta ray at the end of the dive. Fantastic!

Excited about seeing more rays, we had our second dive at Makassar Reef which is the best place in the Park to see mantas whilst diving. Also called ‘Manta Point’ it certainly lived up to its name and we were lucky enough to see around ten of these graceful creatures. One of them was a completely black specimen, a colour morph which we here at Wicked Diving like to call the ‘ninja manta’!

During the afternoon snorkel at Gindang we saw some black tipped sharks amongst the mangroves which added even more sharks to our total number of sightings. The last dive of the day is one which staff and guest alike can’t stop talking about and that is the night dive at Wainilu. We jumped in a little earlier at sunset with the hope of seeing some mandarin fish, a species of dragonet who do a special courtship display at dusk. And we were not disappointed as several of these pretty fish delighted the divers with their antics. We also saw a few picturesque dragonets (a relative of the mandarin fish), cuttlefish, dwarf lionfish, different species of moray eel, pipefish and a pair of fighting hermit crabs to name but a few. Everyone was impressed with what we managed to find on the dive and spoke excitedly about all the species they had seen for the very first time.

And so the final day came and the final dive at Pulau Tengah was on the agenda. Tengah is a great dive for everybody as there is a wall, a sloping reef and a stunning coral plateau full of fish to explore. We recently discovered a ‘shark nest’ with up to ten baby sharks underneath a table coral and we were fortunate enough to be able to revisit it again on this dive. Again more babies were there darting around probably wondering who these strange looking visitors were! Such a fantastic way to end our six days of diving with sharks.

Although the diving was finished there was still another activity planned for the guests. A trip to the dragon’s lair! The rangers on Rinca island showed us a number of large adults and we were also happy to see some baby (if you can call a metre long lizard a baby) dragons in the wild during our forest trek.
And so that was it. Our Komodo adventure had come to an end. We set sail to Labuan Bajo and reminisced about the dives we had done, the things we had seen and swapped details with a hope of diving together again sometime in the future.

-Diving Komodo with Wicked!

Komodo Liveaboard trip Report - August 2nd 2013

Whilst the Jaya returned to Labuan Bajo to pick up new guests Ann and Kev from England and Anna and Greg from the USA, returning guests Sebastian, Mike, Ali, Caroline, Jacqui, Nick, Dorte, Carl and Nick spent the afternoon relaxing on Kanawa in preparation for their next dive. Joining the guests onboard were Wicked guides Pit, Martyn, Carl and Marsel. An easygoing, late afternoon dive at North Point was the first scheduled dive of the next part of the trip. The reef around Kanawa is well known for its macro life and we managed to spot moray eels, lionfish, nudibranchs, flatworms, a few sponge snails as well as some larger fish such as giant trevallies and snapper. Not a bad start to everyone’s Komodo adventure! The evening was spent journeying to the northern reaches of the Park during which the guests enjoyed dinner and chatted about their previous diving experiences.

The second day of the trip consisted of exploring some of the most famous dive sites in the entire Park. First up was The Cauldron, a dive site notable for its large fish, a fast drift and a beautiful coral garden. The current check revealed both a white tip reef shark and a hawksbill turtle in the Cauldron itself so expectations were high for the entire dive. As always, the Cauldron did not disappoint. Some of the groups were lucky enough to see a rare pygmy seahorse hiding on a sea fan at the start of the dive and the ‘Fishbowl’ located inside the Cauldron was host to schools of midnight snapper, surgeonfish and giant trevally. The drift section on the latter part of the dive was less strong than usual so we managed to enjoy the reef rather than it passing by in a huge blur!

Castle Rock was up next and after breakfast the divers were all ready to explore one of most incredible sites in the area. Castle Rock is well known for having the best chance to see sharks in the whole of the park and the dive certainly lived up to its reputation. We dropped down and hovered over the edge of the slope and soon encountered several white tipped reef sharks who circled amongst us while playing with the currents. Dogtooth tuna and a school of mackerel also swam past adding to the spectacle. Another elusive pygmy seahorse was also found as well as a leaf scorpionfish nestled in the coral. Once we drifted around the central rock we dived into an awesome feeding frenzy where the giant trevallies feasted on the neon fusiliers in a whirlwind of speed and colour. What a way to end the dive!

The final dive in the North of the Park took place at Crystal Rock, so called because of its frequent crystal clear visibility. The current check revealed that the current was going to be quite strong so we briefed the divers accordingly and descended to the edge of the site. Holding onto rocks we were witness to an amazing show of white tips swimming in the blue and then all of a sudden a grey reef shark appeared! Dwarfing the white tips, the grey reef clearly stood out as the largest shark we had seen that day. We don’t always see so many grey reef sharks in the Park so it was a real treat for guests and staff alike.

Another of our ‘Extreme Beach Cleans’ took place on Gili Lawa Laut and after the exertion of the day we relaxed and watched the sun dip down over the horizon whilst Marsel informed the guests of local traditions involving goats!

An early wake-up call prepared the guests for a dive at Tatawa Kecil, a dive site we can’t always dive because of its more common name…’Current City’! It was deemed that the conditions were safe for us to dive so we made our way slowly down the beautiful sloping coral reef. Some of the groups made it to the cave and rocky overhangs which make the site a real winner for those interested in underwater topography. The nooks and crannies play host to a variety of large fish sheltering from the current including schools of batfish, sweetlips and snapper. Making our way to the lee side of the island for our safety stop, Kev found an octopus in a hole which he was kind enough to show to the rest of the divers in his group!

We then made our way to Mauan for the next dive of the day. Mauan has a stunning, colourful coral reef which is best taken in at a leisurely pace. Today was not that day. The drift was quite strong and as Carl pointed out it was like ‘being in a washing machine with a rainbow’! With schools of hundreds of neon fusiliers thrown in for good measure! The current didn’t stop us from spying banded seasnakes, green turtles and some huge puffer fish. What an exciting dive!

The third dive of the day was at Pulau Tengah, a dive site which has everything you could wish for – a coral encrusted wall, a soft coral slope and a plateau containing some of the biggest table corals you have ever seen. It was under one of these table corals that we made an incredible find. A shark nursery! In total we counted ten baby white tips all lined up side by side. To see this many sharks in one place and so close up was a fantastic experience for everybody. Kev found another octopus (we’ll have to check to see whether or not he’s got eight legs!) as well as the tiny orang utan crab. Our safety stop rewarded us with the sight of some bumphead parrotfish having a spa treatment courtesy of some cleaner wrasse. Next stop a visit to the dentists!

The final dive of the trip was a night dive at Wainilu situated in front of Pulau Kambing (Goat Island) and only a few minutes away from the dock at Rinca island. Wainilu is not famed for having a spectacular reef however the life that lives within it is amongst the most interesting that you can find in Komodo. Starry night octopus, dwarf lionfish, banded pipefish, Barchin scorpionfish and bigfin reef squid were all spotted as well as a couple of hard to spot frogfish. Perhaps the greatest find was the mandarin fish, a must see species for divers all over the world. Komodo certainly doesn’t disappoint when it comes to the ‘bucket list’ of most divers!

As no dive was lined up for the final day, it meant that we could get to Rinca early to make the most of the Komodo dragons in their natural habitat. The early morning is considered the best time to go as it usually means that the dragons are more active before the heat of the midday sun causes them to retreat into the forest. The guests were lucky to see six of these majestic creatures including one at the panoramic viewpoint taking in the view of the surrounding islands. Or maybe he was looking for a mate as this time of year is the breeding season for the dragons!

The sails were lifted for the journey back to Labuan Bajo whilst the guests swapped stories about the trip and made promises to keep in touch and hopefully dive together again sometime in the future.

-Komodo

Wicked Diving Komodo’s newest collection

Ok. We don’t mean to brag, but we are a little excited. We want to show you our new range of coconut shell jewellery which is available to buy in our dive shop in Labuan Bajo.

The range includes handcrafted manta ray necklaces and manta ray earrings, turtle key rings and Komodo dragon brooches. These have all been exclusively designed and made for us by the residents of Komodo island.

We’re particularly excited about them as they have been made for us from coconut, which is widely available and doesn't impact the marine environment. Similar items were available, but they were all taken from shell from the marine park. We loved the designs, but wanted them crafted in a sustainable material.

We have now noticed an increase in the use of coconut from some of the traders within the park. Our guests have the option to buy directly from the local traders and we always recommend purchasing coconut or other sustainable materials. We hope in this way we will see a distinct reduction in the amount of shell on sale.

In addition, purchasing these items on an ongoing basis from the Komodo National Park fishermen, we are offering an alternate source of income to fishing. Win win! We have been lucky that some of the traders have embraced this with an entrepreneurial spirit and hope many more will follow suit.

There are almost 4000 residents in the national park, most of whom make a living from trade in local goods and sales of souvenirs. Wicked is committed to supporting local communities and we are happy to be able to offer these to our guests in the Wicked Komodo shop.

-Wicked Diving - Komodo Dive

Komodo Liveaboard - Trip Report July 27th, 2013

Whilst guests Natalie, Mel, Duane, Barbara, Robert, Asha, Alana, Tony, Craig, Tim and Brian relaxed the afternoon away at Kanawa, the Jaya returned to Labuan Bajo to pick up Eduardo from Brazil and honeymooners Oli and Tom from England and off went our Komodo Liveaboard trip!

With all divers back on board and with guides Martyn, Steve, Carl and Marsel we undertook our first dive at North Point, a sloping reef situated in front of the island. A couple of interested eagle rays welcomed the divers although some (and their guides included) were taken aback when a group of hunting giant trevallies came a little too close for comfort! After diving the clouds briefly parted and the sunset peeked through whilst we journeyed up to the northern tip of the Park with the promise of some amazing dives planned for the next day.


In order to beat the crowds we woke early to dive Crystal Rock, one of the most famous dive sites in the park and so named because of its frequent crystal clear visibility. The current was mild and therefore we were able to explore the far reaches of the site at a leisurely pace including the beautiful coral encrusted pinnacles that jut up towards the surface. As we made our way behind the main  rock we were greeted by huge schools of long fin bannerfish, surgeonfish and big eye trevally. A safety stop in a real life aquarium. Welcome to Komodo guys!


After breakfast and a rest we jumped in to dive Castle Rock, perhaps the most well known site in the whole park. And why is it so famous? Because it is so incredible! We were immediately surrounded by white tip reef sharks, enormous napoleon wrasse cruised by and huge schools of surgeonfish swam overhead.


But it isn’t only the ‘big stuff’ that this site offers. Cool macro critters such as hairy squat lobsters can be found on the barrel sponges and lucky divers can also see the rare pygmy seahorse here. The one we saw was bright yellow. What a find! Thinking that the dive couldn’t get any better we were thrilled to witness a feeding frenzy in the shallower waters. The giant trevallies decided they were hungry and it was time to have breakfast and as they darted into their prey several white tipped sharks joined in on the action creating a mass of activity before our very eyes. An excellent dive for everybody involved.


The final dive of the day was scheduled for The Lighthouse where we were expecting a stunning reef full of life. What we weren’t expecting was four manta rays swimming overhead! A great surprise proving that anything can happen in Komodo at any time. In addition to the rays we also saw another pygmy seahorse and a black tip reef shark swimming by. The guests spent the rest of the afternoon chatting about what a brilliant dive they had all just had.

Another of our ‘Extreme Beach Cleans’ took place on Gili Lawa Darat with Alana and her group of fellow Australians challenging the rest of the world. Did the Aussies win? Just about. Crikey. The hilltop sunset relaxed us all even with Natalie making us perform yoga poses on the cliff edge for the camera!


Moving into the centre of the Park for our second full day of diving we began at Siaba Kecil which is possibly the fastest drift dive in the entire Park. And boy what a drift! The reef whizzed past at lightning speed. The latter half of the dive was spent in a far more relaxing fashion with the divers gently drifting across a beautiful staghorn coral garden with the opportunity to spot both green and hawksbill turtles.

Up next was the dive that most guests look forward to when coming to Komodo. Makassar Reef, also known as ‘Manta Point’ gives us the greatest opportunity to see these majestic creatures in the whole of the Park. With luck on our side after yesterday’s manta surprise at The Lighthouse, the divers eagerly anticipated another encounter with Komodo’s most famous underwater residents. As soon as we dropped in we saw two mantas close to the bottom which prepared us for what we might see for the rest of the dive. Within minutes we had found our first mantas and we clung onto nearby rocks whilst the current washed over our heads. We were certainly struggling more than the rays were! At one point we were surrounded by eight mantas in all directions. And just as a special treat a tawny nurse shark and a black tip reef shark decided to show up and delight us. After the mantas moved on we released our grip and drifted further along the plateau. Soon we found even more mantas. In total we saw twelve mantas on the reef. What lucky divers!

As the dive was so successful, the guests asked if they could dive Makassar Reef again. All of us that work at Wicked Diving love mantas so why not! With every dive involving mantas we log all the encounters and send it to the Manta Trust so this was a great opportunity to provide more research to understand and protect these ocean giants even further.


Impressed by our fun briefings, Duane decided he would also like to give it a go. Dressed in full pirate gear he wowed the guests with his realistic accent and ‘accurate’ drawings of what we might see underwater. A mermaid anyone?! After a slow start to the dive we were wondering if we had made the wrong decision the dive the same site again. Wrong! After thirty or so minutes the mantas came. And came.  And came.  Each group saw as many as the first dive if not even more. One group were overjoyed to have a manta come up from the deep to say ‘goodbye’ whilst doing their safety stop in the blue. Everyone agreed that this was perhaps the best dive of the trip so far.


 As a celebratory treat we spent the sunset at Kaaba island which is famous for it’s daily exodus of flying foxes back to mainland Flores where they feast on fruit before returning back to their island home.



The final dive took place at Wainilu, a staff favourite as it’s a great site for finding the rare macro creatures that only show their faces at night. Starry night octopus, Papuan cuttlefish, decorator crabs, pipefish and the elusive frogfish were all found on the reef. A great way to end our diving adventures in the park. But we weren’t finished yet. An early morning date with the Komodo dragons rewarded the guests with these magnificent (and a little scary!) beasts in their natural environment. Everybody was happy to have checked off both of Komodo’s key species on this Jaya trip – the manta rays and dragons. Hoisting sail for the return journey back to the mainland, we all sat down and reminisced about our fantastic experiences and made plans to meet each other again sometime in the future.
-Wicked Diving Komodo